10 Best WWE Main Roster Debuts Of Former NXT Wrestlers
2. The Shield
There’s a slight caveat here, as Dean Ambrose never actually competed in NXT himself. Ambrose was banned from wrestling for WWE’s new developmental promotion after brutally destroying William Regal on the final episode of Florida Championship Wrestling, but The Shield still had one of the most memorable debuts in wrestling history, and Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins keep it eligible.
Rollins was the first NXT Champion, while Reigns had cut his teeth with a Polynesian gimmick as Leakee. Ambrose, meanwhile, had long established himself as an unhinged personality on FCW. Their first impressions were absolutely startling, however, and their reputations soon went through the roof.
It was Survivor Series 2012, and CM Punk’s WWE Championship was on the line in a three-way with Ryback and John Cena. The match looked to be reaching an end when three men, each decked-out in black SWAT gear, hopped the barricade. The commentary team soon identified them, but they barely had a moment to collect their thoughts as Ryback was powerbombed through the announce table, and Punk retained his championship.
The Shield’s debut blew the wrestling world wide open. They’d opened a huge fracture in WWE’s main event scene, and set the tone for the dominance that followed. In terms of pure spectacle, this debut is hard to beat, but one particular NXT graduate has them trumped as far as shooting up the rankings goes...